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Breast prosthesis/enhancement cover

Breast prosthesis/enhancement cover description/claims

This invention relates to breast prostheses and breast enhancements, more particularly, a breast prosthesis or breast enhancement cover that enables a woman to quickly and easily wear a breast prosthesis or breast enhancement without a support garment and in a sanitary manner.

Many women, particularly breast cancer survivors who have undergone a mastectomy, use breast prostheses, also known as breast forms, in order to gain emotional and physical confidence by having a more traditional womanly shape. The breast prosthesis is made of a specialized material, such as silicone gel, fiberfill, or polyurethane foam, so as to have a natural shape and feel. Usually the breast prosthesis is positioned within a support garment having straps, such as a mastectomy bra, which has at least one pocket that is sized and shaped to accommodate a breast prosthesis.

However, because a mastectomy bra must be worn in order to wear such breast prostheses, women refrain from wearing tank tops, spaghetti straps and strapless shirts and dresses as the mastectomy bra straps are visible. Although women may wear a form-fitting garment, such as knit tops having a built-in or “shelf” bra or a stretch-type camisole foundation, wherein a prosthesis may be slipped-into and held against the body by the shelf bra, the prosthesis will usually slide around within the built-in bra or foundation as the prosthesis is not secured to the built-in bra or foundation, thereby resulting in an unnatural look. In addition, because the prosthesis is positioned directly against the skin, sweat, bacteria and other microorganisms accumulate on the prosthesis, thereby requiring the user to continuously wash the prosthesis, a tedious process which is described below.

Furthermore and as with any other bra, it is often more comfortable for a woman to relax around the house and go to sleep without wearing a bra. However, if the woman feels more confident physically and emotionally when wearing a breast prosthesis, she is faced with the difficult decision of wearing a mastectomy bra with exposed bra straps when wearing a nightgown or lingerie at night or wearing no breast prosthesis at all.

An alternative means for wearing a breast prosthesis or breast enhancement is by using a cover in conjunction with the prosthesis/enhancement wherein the cover includes a tab. To use, a woman inserts the prosthesis/enhancement within the cover and secures the cover to a strap of a traditional bra. However, as discussed above, a support means, such as a bra, must still be worn in conjunction with the cover wherein straps are visible, an option which is not always viable.

One way in which women have worn breast prostheses or breast enhancements without the use of a support garment is by securing the tab of a breast prosthesis and/or breast enhancement cover directly to the article of clothing itself. However, because a pin must puncture through the article of clothing, the pin itself is visible on the outside of the article of clothing, thereby making it noticeable that the wearer is wearing a prosthesis or enhancement. In addition, puncture holes may remain in the article of clothing.

Furthermore, as breast prostheses are expensive, women usually own a single prosthesis or one pair as in the case of women who have undergone a double mastectomy. The wearer usually wears the prosthesis on a daily basis so as to have a uniform, natural look. Therefore, as the same breast prosthesis is worn on a daily basis, it is important to keep the prosthesis in a clean and sanitary condition as it is not cost efficient to purchase many prostheses.

However, as the prosthesis is not typically an item that is machine washable, the user must take the time to hand wash the prosthesis and allow the prosthesis to air dry. This process is very time consuming and, as it takes an extended amount of time to dry the prosthesis, washing it may prevent the wearer from going out of the home until the prosthesis is dry as she is unable to wear a damp prosthesis.

Moreover, these problems are not only related to breast prostheses, but are also related to breast enhancers which are typically used when a woman has undergone a partial mastectomy or any women simply desiring to increase the size appearance of her breasts.

Thus, there exists the need for a breast prosthesis and breast enhancement cover that enables a woman to quickly and easily wear a breast prosthesis or breast enhancement without a support garment and in a sanitary manner.

The relevant prior art includes the following patents:

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Previous Patent Application:
System for creating visual images
Next Patent Application:
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Industry Class:
Prosthesis (i.e., artificial body members), parts thereof, or aids and accessories therefor

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